Device on vehicles for protecting pedestrians



Sept. 4, 1934. H KARL DEVICE oN VEHICLES FOR PROTECTING PEDESTRIANS Filed Sept. 2, 1930 Patented Sept. 4, 1934 UNITED-STATES DEVICEl ON VEHICLES FOR PROTECTING PEDESTRIANS Y Heinrichk Karl, Jersey City, N. J. Application September 2, 1930, Serial No. 479,200

z claims.

This inventionrelates to devices for installation on vehicles and vserves forA the protection of pedestrians from being run over by the wheels of the vehicles 4and from being seriously hurt by 5- the moving vehicles when the 'pedestrians ap- 'preach them too near from the side. The invention also has relation to the similar invention which forms an applicationforpatent whose kSerial No. is .479,201 which'V was led simultaneously withrthis application on September 2, 1930, 'and allowed `underdate of `December, 2, 1931. 1

More particularly Vthe present application'contemplates a devicein front o f the'vehicle (asimilar deviceinight be installed also at the rear of thevehicle) yand consists of .a bent forwardly Xtended` and .horizontally held stretcher-like framefof therkind known inthe art `and which is covered with cloth or with a net and which is so fastened tothe vehicle body that it will move down'y somewhat when a'personnfalls upon it, for

which' purpose it is created. Connected Ltherewith' `'are suchY novel mechanisms ,thatj will exert a brakingactionuponthe vehicle. after a person `Vfa'lls, upon said stretcher-like structure. 4The mechanismswhich` cause that functionrare similar-tothoseemployed in connection4 with the samejfu'nction which is shown andhdescribedyinV the application which will be filed simultaneously with this application, and these mechanisms confy sist first of vpieces of strong leather, such as sole leather. or of na tough fabric, that are heldin suspended position before the rear wheels'of. the automobile, etc., p land which are dropped @to the ground at the momentaperson falls upon vksaid stretcher-.like part (0r fender). The'rear wheels thus are compelled to` movev uponfsaidleather pieceswhen the automobile, etc. is in forwardv motion wherebythecorda chains, or jwires that be- ,4 fore held said pieces of leatherin suspended ypo- 40 sition now hold said pieces of leather, etc. in the position in which the rear wheels must stay upon them so Ythat they cannot grip the ground but have to move always upon said pieces of leather. ATheresult is -that said automobile, etc. cannot -move^forward andis practically'stoppe'd until it moves backward soY that the pieces of leather can be lifted andvput into suspended position again.

This invention comprises therefore also mechanisms for holding said pieces of leather, etc. in

suspended position and forreleasing them and it comprisesalsos'uch means that prevent these pieces-Lo'fleather from moving out ofthe path'of the rear' wheels offtl'ie automobile, e'tc. whenfthe automobile is orfwas in forward motion. Furthermore, this invention comprises also devices for (cl. 18o-s3) stopping the automobile or other horseless vehicle when a person falls upon the stretcher-like part or fender that'is arranged at the rear part of the automobile' or like vehicle when it moves backward'. 60 The part which protects the pedestrian from` being hurt when he approaches the moving ve'- hicle too near from the side consists of ya frame which is fastened 'to the mud-guard, if there is such, and which is covered with cloth or asheet of metal, and the general shape of this screen-`V like frame and covering thereof is such that when" Y seen in the vertical plane it is extended'farthest to the outside where it is nearest to the center of the wheel. 70.A

In the accompanying drawing- Figure l shows an automobile in elevation, with. parts broken away for showing the essential part of the invention; `and e y Figure 2 shows a top view of that automobile 75" with its upper' structure partly removed 'for showing 'the arrangement of the automatic ,braking devices. I'

The frame infront of the vehicleV which may be an automobile, truck, or trolley car, or any other-similar horseless vehicle, is indicated by 1 and the cloth or net which covers the frame 1 is indicated by 2. This cloth or net may be'slight- 1y sagging, but should be fastened we1l. The frame 1 is fastened to a bar 3 which is movably- 85 arranged in journals 4 formed by or secured to a part of the car body which, in this instance, might be the front bumper 4a. Relatively strong leafV springs 5 are so arranged thatithe frame l is held in the horizontal position. These 90 springs 5 will yield to the pressure exerted by a person who falls upon said frame and into thenet or stretcher 2. A stop 6, however, prevents the further downward moving of the stretcher. Connected toV barr3'is another bar 7 which has a 95 similar purpose to bar 2 andpart 5 of the said concurring patent application and all 'other' mechanisms, especially those that will cause the automatic braking of the vehicle must be brought in connection therewith. Bar 7 forms 100 on its free end a downwardly directed 'hook 8 that is dentated. Another hook-shaped part 9y isv secured to the stop 6 and is also dentated and is so arranged that the teeth thereof face the teeth of the hook 8. A circumferentially grooved plug-shaped part l2 is inserted between part 8 and part 9 and the teeth of part 8 and part 9'correctly fit in thegro'oves of that plugshaped part`12.y Part 8 thus holds that plugshaped part 12 because the pressureexerted by 110 is fastened the leather piece 63 which mightv 'be made of another suitable material thathas to stand the strain to which it will be submitted in case of an automatic stopping of the vehicle.

It is preferable to fasten a metal ring 63a to that.

piece of leather 63 and to fasten cord 30 to another ring 30a and link the latter lwith ring63a. In a similar manner will be secured also the leather piece 63 that serves in connection with the right-side rear wheel of the vehicle. For holding these two leather pieces `63 and 63' exactly in front of their respective wheels a bar 36 is employed and is held by ropes, chains, or wires 37, 38, respectively. These ropes arefas- -tened `at a suitable part near -or above the cenplug`45 to this rope 39.

ter line of` the axle of the rear wheels and as the frame or cover for that axle 14 is suitable for that purpose said cords 37, 38 may be fas-y tened on top thereof. Ata point between the plug-shaped part l2 and the leather piece 63 there is a ring 42 lsecured to the car body' and the rope, etc. 30 is passedtherethrough. A certain distance from and'in advance of ysaid ring 42 a plug44'is fastened to the rope 30 andvin a sim,- ilar manner, but in ,Y respect to thering 43 through which rope 39.15 passed, is fastened the 'IheV leather pieces 63 and 63 are lifted and are held against the underside of the running boards vl5 when the ropes 3()` and 39 are .forcibly stretched, which is the case whenthe part 121s held by theclamp-like device 8, 9. It is to be notedr therefore that the structure of the automatic braking or4 stopping means is hiddenvfrom the eye of the onlooker andv it is therefore one of the advantages,

of this invention that there will not be--any Structural part that harms vthe general appearance of the vehicle. i y f The function is as follows when a person is struck by the vehicle. That person willin allprobability fall upon the part 1` or may stepfrom the plug-shaped part 12, which in ,turnfollows the pull of the tightlystretched ropes 30 and 39 and falls to the ground. The leather pieces 63, 63 fall then also to the ground, but right in front of the rear wheels which then rnove upon these leather pieces when the automobile, etc. was in forward motion. `At the moment in whichA the rear wheels arrive at rthe center of the leather pieces 63, 63', so that-these may be well under their respective-wheels, the

:i plugs 44, 45 arrive'at their respectiverings 42, 43. These plugs are so voluminous thattheyl the underside of the leather pieces 63, 63', or to add metallic points of flat angles to them which should, however, not be so prominent as to damage the pavement of the street. The whole structure is made so that it will serve also for preventing damage to the automobile itself, because the frame 1 is so arranged with respect to the journals 4 that it will be -moved down rather than up when an obstruction, such as a tree, post 0r pole, etc., is met by the vehicle, and, in this instance, a braking action inthe form previously described will save the vehicle from greater damage.

It-s also one of the objects of this invention that no damage be made to the wheels or rubber tires -of -the vehicle when the automatic braking or stopping action, as described, takes place.

In the event that a braking action is to ensue also when a person is struck by a vehicle which moves backward, a somewhat simplified method is employed in this instance. The stretcher-like device inthe rear of the vehicle is indicated by 1 and all those partswhichvare similar to those described in connection with this devicereceive the same numeral with the addition of a prime. The ropes, chains, or wires 30', 39,', however, are directly connected to the bar 36 and this b ar holds a pair of-brake shoes 31, 32 which are somewhat diierent from those referred to as the leather pieces 63, `63'. `The Lbrake shoes 31, 32

have` side parts `33 Ywhich extend upwardly andv which are adapted to clamp thelbrake shoe to the wheel or tire thereof. l brake shoes may be provided with metallic projections for insuring a quick stop of the vehicle whereby. said projections will grip the'ground. Besides that, thebrake shoes 31, 32 are so vshaped that. the wheel will notlikely take them around;V

this is yalsolmade impossible on account ofthe ropes, chainsVor wires 37,', 38'- which vare some-v whatI shorter than the ropesr37, 38. A lstrong braking action is therefore obtained through the pull exerted bythe ropes k37', 38 upon theibrake shoes 31,32 and consequently upon the wheel rims of the rearl ywheels or the tires` thereof when the` rear vehicle `wheels still turn' at the moment in whichthe brake shoes 31 and 32j'are/situatedin the verticalcenter lineof thesegrear wheels of the vehicle. j

From the description it is shown that a person who will be struckby a vehicle which is equipped with said stretcher-like device will fall upon thisV device and will also cause at the same time lthe automatic braking of the vehicle. 4 .A

Theparts. of the frame 1 which might comein touch with vsaid falling personshould be padded with cloth or rubber (see padding material indicated-by 1f in Figure 1) so that the falling person may not be injured; Y

What I claim is:

1. In a device on a vehicle for the protection of the pedestrian, a frame in front of `the vehicle and alocking device in connection therewith.- a cord attached to a flat-shaped means, the 'latter held by a bar in front of `one of the vehicle wheels, another cord attached to a part of the vehicle and to said bar, said first-mentionedy cord possessing meansadapted to be held by-saidlocking device for, holding thereby said cords and also` sai-d flat-shaped means and said bar in suspended Y position, `and this `locking device adapted .to re'- lease said Vfirst-mentioned cord andl said -flatshaped means so that the latter falls tov the groundinfront of 4said vehicle wheel in such The underside of these' manner that said vehicle Wheel moves upon said flat-shaped means when the Vehicle is in forward motion and said frame has been pushed from above, and a means adapted to thereby hold said flat-shaped means under said vehicle wheel preventing said Wheel from gripping the ground but allowing it to turn.

2. In a device on a vehicle for the protection of the pedestrian, a frame in the rear of the vehicle and a locking device in connection therewith, a cord having a means attached thereto and adapted to be held by said locking device, a brake shoe, the latter held by a bar behind one of the vehicle wheels and said cord thereby holding said bar, other cords attached to a part of the vehicle and to said bar, thus holding said bar and brake shoe suspended, said means adapted to be released by said locking device when said frame is pushed from above, said cords thereby permitting said bar and brake shoe to fall to the ground and lay there in such position that said Wheel must move upon said brake shoe when the vehicle moves backwards, said second-mentioned other cords thereby stretched in such manner that the brake shoe exerts a strong pressure upon the rim of said wheel, causing thereby a strong braking of the vehicle.

HEINRICH KARL. 

